A new species of Lepidozona (Mollusca: Polyplacophora: Ischnochitonidae), found on whale bones off the coast of Chile

Lepidozona balaenophila spec. nov. is described from Chile. It was found at a single location situated at the upper bathyal zone (240 m) off Concepción (~36°S). It lives, and probably feeds, on bones of dead whales. This is the first time that this type of habitat is described for a chiton. Furthermore, this is also the first report of a member of the genus Lepidozona from Chilean waters, and represents a considerable southward extension of the distribution range of the genus in the eastern Pacific Ocean.